


Bloodlines (reboot)

by sirsoundwaveIV



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-06-24 20:54:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19731595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirsoundwaveIV/pseuds/sirsoundwaveIV
Summary: A boy and his Oshawott goes on a journey of self discovery and facing his own past through Hoenn.





	1. Beginning

Liliana remembered the times she woke up seconds before her alarm instead of moments before a child’s cry. She felt the building cry tug at the back of her mind and opened her bleary eyes. The ceiling fan whirled around, doing its best to work with the air conditioning to dispel the humid early morning summer air.

Finally, she heard the wailing cry. From Burris, of course. She felt Eli’s weight shift next to her and remembered his gym leader test in Asperita was the next morning.

She shoved their cozy blankets off from her and trudged through the darkness to the light green crib. 

“Come on, Burris,” she said, scooping up the small tan baby boy. Liliana rocked him gently, humming a tune from her childhood as she made her way to the door. “I’ll feed you downstairs.”

-

Liliana flicked the switch on, the cracks in the white paint on the walls reminding her their current place was a placeholder. Live in Asperita for a few years and then see where Eli ended up in the gym circuit. There had been talk of opening another gym in central Unova for some time now, though some of the gym leaders there were understandably uncertain about sharing a city with a new gym.

The fridge opened with a simple tug from her mind, and soon after a bottle of formula followed. By the time the fridge closed, the sound of sucking on rubber and formula drowning the crying. 

Liliana continued to hum her song to herself as she made her way from the dull white kitchen to the living room a few steps away. She sat down on her cozy red recliner, smiling down at Burris with tired warm eyes.

She picked up on someone approaching, and sure enough, a Samurott came trotting out on all fours. Jack’s scars occasionally broke through the deep blue fur, a reminder of that championship run that seemed like a lifetime ago now.

He looked at Burris and whimpered. 

Liliana laughed. “He’s fine, Jack.” 

The Samurott snorted and nudged Burris with his wet nose, the baby spitting out bits of formula over Liliana’s pink pajama top and giggling.

Liliana raised an eyebrow at Jack. “Really?” she chided. The empty bottle set itself gently on the end table, as if a spirit moved it.

Jack pretended to not notice, placing his head on Liliana’s knees and focusing on Burris intently. 

The Samurott yelped at the sensation of Burris yanking at one of his fluffy whiskers.

Liliana shook her head. 

“You deserved that.” Jack grumbled, distracting Liliana for a moment as Burris grabbed for a small music box next to the bottle. Red and blue, it had plenty of signs of wear and tear across the years. It floated into the air and into Burris’ small hands.

He jumped a little as Liliana popped open the top with her mind. It showed a stand with a stout red and blue plumber next to a tall brunette, blue eyes and wearing a sparkling dress, on top of the box as a lullaby played.

Liliana saw Burris’ eyes grow heavy once more. She briefly remembered her nerves while expecting, the conversations with mama Aile about what to expect, their hopes and dreams for the children and how they deserved nothing but the best.

Liliana still remembered Aile’s beaming smile as she held her grandchildren, one at a time.

Liliana kissed Burris on the forehead, both to say good night and as a small gesture, hoping even in Burris’ small undeveloped mind he’d understand all her love, hopes, and dreams she had for him.

-

_A little less than 18 years later_

Burris’ drowsy eyes blinked awake, feeling the shuffling of the small creature sharing the bed with him, crawling around underneath the soft baby blue blanket.

He hadn’t needed an alarm for the past few years, he noted as a white head with a boopable red nose and wide black eyes stared out at him. The Oshawott hummed contently as Burris rubbed behind his left ear with a single tan finger.

Robby jumped out into full view, standing on top of Burris’ upper chest. His red bandanna, tied around his neck, looked kind of like a superhero’s cape. The stubby arms planted on his light blue sides and confident smile reinforced the image.

“Always the morning ‘mon,” Burris grumbled, sitting upright and running a hand through his messy deep brown hair. 

Robby chirped and Burris felt the bed lurch slightly as the Oshawott hopped to the floor. Burris mumbled, stretching an arm above his head. He swung around to the side of the bed, his legs idly kicking as he tried to remember what felt so important about to-

Suddenly, he launched out of bed. Mom was making breakfast today!

-

Burris munched on the soft fluffiness of his first stack of pancakes, the maple syrup’s natural sweetness a perfect accessory to the warmth. 

His eyes went past his mom, focused intently on the oven and the colorful pastries within, and the Salamence staring at said treats from the windowsill outside, past the white walls Burris remembered they had repainted when they first moved in, past Sienna, his twin sister with lighter skin but the same deep brunette hair and near the end of her stack of pancakes, towards the TV, a small black flat screen now showing a blue man with a metal fin on his head talking down to a talking raccoon.

“I know you steal batteries you don’t need, and you push away anyone who’s willing to deal with ‘cha, because just a little bit of love reminds you of how big and empty that hole inside you actually is-“ the man said, words escaping through his ragged teeth.

“I said shut up!” the small creature replied, and Burris found himself wondering what it’d be like if a Zigzagoon could talk. And carry big laser guns.

“I know those scientists that made you never gave a rat’s ass about you-“

Sienna scoffed, snapping Burris away from Guardians of the Galaxy 2. “Great breakfast fare, this one.”

Burris pouted and crossed his arms. “You just don’t like the movie!” he said, stare locking with Sienna’s.

“We could just put on Captain Marvel instead-“

“- we always put on Captain Marvel-“

The twins devolved into arguing in raised voices. Liliana paid them no mind for the moment; they weren’t travelling together, after all, and they’d find out soon enough how much they’d miss each other.

That, and she had to deal with the Salamence practically drooling on the stovetop at the PokePuffs buried within the oven.

“Slade,” she said sternly. “I can see you.” 

The young Salamence whimpered and snapped his jaws.

“These are for everyone.” She kept her voice the same. Bagon that could stay in the wild and fully grow into Salamence were extremely difficult to control and some were even violent.

Slade, on the other hand, probably got bossed around by a Lilligant mere minutes before following the scent of baked goods. Leia had eggs, and while Liliana knew that Slade wouldn’t eat them, she couldn’t blame her bestie for being protective.

Slade snorted and plopped his head down on the windowsill. The oven beeped, and in a single invisible motion Liliana took the pastries out and set them on the stovetop.

The bickering continued, and Liliana shook her head at the gradual escalation of criticism. The two saved this kind of talk only for things the other enjoyed.

“Children, please,” she spoke up. The two went quiet. “You’re free to enjoy whatever movies and fiction you want.”

Burris and Sienna shared apprehensive glances as Liliana stole a sip of coffee from her green Lilligant mug. 

It didn’t do much to contain her mischievous smile.

“But neither of them have Scott Lang, so they’re really just fighting for second.”

Burris sighed and rolled his eyes. Sienna planted her cheek on a fist and stared at her mom with tired sarcastic eyes.

“Does dad know?” she asked.

Liliana laughed.

-

Burris fussed with the heavy fabric straps of his hiking backpack and frowned at the discomfort. Robby’s capsule sat clipped on his belt, a rough and well-loved red and white capsule with five empty slots next to it.  
Sienna had gone on ahead to Birch’s lab; she likely already had her starter pokemon by now.

Always the overachiever.

Burris heard his mom knock at his door.

“Can I come in?” 

“Sure,” Burris replied. The wooden panels creaked as Liliana walked in front of her son.

“Those straps were always picky,” she remarked, arms crossed. “Are you okay?”

Burris tilted his head and frowned. “Nervous.” 

Liliana gave her usual warm smile. “I’m not surprised. It is a big day after all.”

“Yeah,” Burris replied with a nervous chuckle. He couldn’t help but drift towards all the gaps in the stories his parents and grandparents would tell about their own journeys. He had caught one of his grandmothers with a question when he was young, and she was drinking.

It didn’t take long to pick up on the fact his questions were better left unsaid.

Burris wondered if his mom picked up on the real cause of his nerves, but her usual serene aura held strong if she did.

She patted him on the shoulder.

“It’ll be fine. You have Robby, Birch has the perfect starter for you.” She sighed and smiled, drifting back to the day she met Jack, bundle of energy and cuddles. He still had some of that energy, even as a dad. “And a world of possibilities ahead of you.”

“I’m not even sure I want to be the champion, or even a gym leader like dad-“

“You don’t have to be,” Liliana said. “You can be whatever you want, and you don’t need fame or fortune to make the journey worthwhile.” She leaned her chin on a fist and sighed happily. “I did fall in love with your father on my journey, his parents met on his dad’s journey, my parents reconnected…”

She trailed off at the sight of Burris blushing and fidgeting.

“The point is, a journey like this isn’t about saving the world or anything like that; it’s about finding who you are and what you want to do with your life.”

Silence set in for a moment.

“Yeah,” Burris murmured, his little grin escaping through his nerves. “Thanks, Mom.”

Liliana felt her heart soar a bit at the smile and scooped her son into a warm hug.

“You’re welcome.” She let Burris go and put her hands on her hips. “Birch is waiting for you.”

-

Birch’s lab, as always, was a train wreck. Dad had taken Burris and Sienna both with him to visit his long-time friend as kids. Occasionally he’d even leave the pair of them with him, in case Mom had a full day of errands alongside his gym shifts.

Burris remembered one time Birch took both of them out into the field to do research. He more vividly remembered Mom putting the fear of Arceus into him after finding out about it.

He peered around a stack of books and papers near an overflowing bookshelf, trying to follow the sound of Birch’s voice. The occasional squeaky cry replied to him; Burris recognized it as an Azumarill’s. Probably Mom’s, thinking on it; Birch had always been interested in its typing. Supposedly Unovan Azumarril were only Water typed, while ones from Hoenn and Kalos both possessed properties of a Fairy type. This fascinated Birch to no end and had the additional effect of keeping him out of the field more.

Burris stepped over another stack of books on the floor- at a glance, related to the physiology of psychics- and turned around another bookshelf to find Birch in the lone cleanish corner of the lab. 

Burris’ eyes went from the surprisingly clear gray tiles to Birch, stout with his white lab coat clashing with his black shorts, stooped over Chu, with more than a few gray hairs and less than rounded white patches of fur, to the table holding a lone pristine Poke Ball.

“Oh, Burris!” Birch said, grin wide and scooping up Burris in a bear hug. Burris knew better than to try and resist.

“Hey Birch,” Burris replied after disengaging. “I’m, uh, here for my starter pokemon.”

Birch clapped loudly. “Of course.” He rubbed his hands together and walked over to the table, a beat in his step. Burris noticed the litany of bandages on Birch’s shins and thighs and wondered how many unfortunate accidents he had gotten into with the wild Zigzagoon recently.

Burris felt the damp hand of an Azumarill poke him in the thigh. He ran his hand through the aqua rabbit’s thick damp head of fur. “Hey there, Chu.”

“So after talking it over with your parents,” Birch interrupted, standing over Burris with Poke Ball in hand. “We decided that Torchic was probably your best partner overall.”

“It is cute,” Burris commented. He didn’t have much preference in any of the starter pokemon, really; Treecko would’ve been interesting, though. Mudkip had a certain charm to it as well, but with Robby it likely would’ve been seen by him as immediate competition.

Burris frowned a bit. Right, Robby.

“He should be okay with you taking a starter, right?” Birch seemed unconvinced. 

“Hopefully,” Burris said. He grabbed both Poke Balls and, in a flash of light, emptied both. A small orange and yellowish bipedal chicken shook his head to ruffle his feathers, while Robby yawned and blinked at the sudden change in light.

His head snapped to the Torchic in a single moment, tilted and sizing up the chicken.

“Robby? This is my uh, starter pokemon.” The Torchic nodded and looked up expectantly at Burris. Right, a name. “Jorge?” Jorge chirped and bounced up and down. “Jorge.”

Robby blinked, looked up at Burris with his big confused black eyes, and an awkward silence set in. 

Robby’s squeaks filled the lab, angry and small and harmless and all directed at Jorge, over dramatic accusatory pointing limbs following. Jorge stood dead still, Birch scratched the top of his head, Burris put his face in his palm, and Chu walked up worried at the scene.

Robby eventually settled down, the sounds of his heavy breathing somehow more awkward then pure silence.

Then Jorge smirked, shut his eyes, and chirped. Burris couldn’t translate for Pokemon- he wasn’t his grandpa, after all- but he could hazard a guess at what the Torchic said.

Because seconds later Robby lunged for Jorge, and moments after that Chu waltzed up and scooped up the small Oshawott.

He cursed all the while over the Azumarill’s shoulder as he walked off to some other part of the lab.

“Robby…” Burris groaned. Jorge chuckled, earning himself Burris’ immediate ire. “You’re not helping either,” he said, fists on his hips and glowering down at Jorge. 

Jorge tilted his head, causing Burris to sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose. “He’s sensitive about this, please don’t bait him like that again.”

Jorge shrugged and chirped.

“Promise me.” 

Jorge gave a more affirmative chirp.

-

Burris patted the now twin Poke Balls on his belt after waving goodbye to Birch. The door shut behind him, and Burris could hear his feet squish the damp earth beneath him.

“Of course, the Torchic is a little gremlin,” he muttered. The humidity of the early summer Hoenn air hit him immediately. Winds gusted around him, and Burris looked up to see dark clouds encroaching on bright blue skies. He could maybe make it to the next town before it started to really pour.

He nudged at his straps again as he walked behind Birch’s lab, his own house just a minute or so away. He could see the small wooden porch outside of his bedroom window from here and remembered the first-time mom discovered him and Sienna on the black shingles.

Dad had a porch built there before that month was out. It had always been a comfortable spot, especially during the cool fall and spring nights. And especially the years after he had gotten Robby; the fact they lived on the outskirts of an already small town gave it a measure of privacy.

It was also a perfect spot to stare up at the stars. Burris knew he’d miss those nights.

He knocked on the door and Mom answered. She leaned on the side of the white doorframe and smiled at him, arms crossed.

Finally, they hugged.

“Good luck.” Liliana let go and patted Burris on the shoulder. “Remember to call once you reach Oldale Town, alright?”

“Of course! Bye Mom!”

She waved at him as he walked off.

“Bye sweetie, love you!”

He replied in kind and vanished around the side of the house. 

Liliana exhaled and opened the door. She knew that all kids would leave home someday, and yet…

She shook her head to dispel the nerves.

The kids would be fine.


	2. Punching Down

Burris boots splashed in the puddles littering Route 101, the torrential downpour nearly turning the peaceful green route into a temporary marsh. Normally Zigzagoon and Poochyena would peak up from their respective corners of the long grass, but according to Birch they retreated to the trees during heavier rain.

Burris could still spy the Sewaddles and Wurmples clinging to the trees. It crossed his mind to catch one of them, but his socks were wet and his emerald green raincoat only protected him from the rain so much.

That, and it caused him to sweat like a mother fucker.

He could hear the streets and cars just beyond the trees on his right side; a small country highway, the only real lifeline Littleroot and Oldale had with Hoenn proper. He wished he could’ve hopped a ride with a car to avoid the rain, but trainers weren’t allowed to take cars or other vehicles. Pokemon only, and it wasn’t a very obscure rule nor hard to figure out that someone was on their journey.

The outskirts of Oldale sat before him, quiet as always as it waited for the rain to let up. Burris hoped he maintained some level of fitness from his track and field days and sprinted.

-

Liliana stared out at the window, drenched in the downpour, and sighed. Her pokemon sat around the house; her Magnezone rested on top of the television as Shockwave always did, keeping an eye on Slade lying on the living room floor and grumbling.

“You don’t need to be so hard on him, Shockwave,” Liliana chided. The wave of beeps in response disagreed.

Kitty rested next to him, the Mienshao’s arms crossed and nodding off. Leia and Jack were off somewhere else, probably; either in the shed housing their eggs, or upstairs dozing off together.

Liliana drifted back to when she started off her own journey and smiled a bit at the nostalgia. Sometimes it amazed herself how easy time had made it to dull some of the horrid memories.

She bit her lip and tilted her head to the table, a decently sized green tablet device sitting on the polished ebony surface. Her thoughts went to her own parents for a moment.

Bianca had an important trip, she knew that, but Aile…

-

Burris praised Arceus as the cold air conditioning washed over him in the PokeCenter. He put his hands to his knees and caught his breath. He looked up at the counter, and a younger nurse looked back at her. Brown hair, blue eyes, and most certainly new to the job; Dad had pointed out to him once that the younger nurses always started out at the more rural PokeCenters after their internships, before moving on to running bigger and better things.

She seemed slightly disappointed at the sight of Burris walking up to the counter.

“My team is fine, the rain keeps the wild pokemon here away,” Burris pointed out. 

The nurse relaxed a bit, then sighed.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t look so stressed, but…” She bit her tongue a bit. 

“Something wrong?”

She grumbled. “There’s a Zigzagoon that loves to just rummage around our trash all the time. We can chase it off just fine, but it just keeps coming back.”

“My dad mentioned PokeCenter staff aren’t allowed to catch Pokemon on the property, yeah.” Something to do with some shady operations that happened back when his family first moved in, if Burris remembered right. 

“Can you catch it?” the nurse pleaded with eyes that said this had been happening for a while. For most PokeCenters in the region, it would’ve been an issue solved by a random trainer in a given day. For Oldale, well, hardly anyone spent a night. Most trainers in the area only went as far as Petalburg before swinging northwest to Rustoboro, then to Mauville and Lavaridge, and never even considered Oldale.

Only so many trainers were well off enough to get a starter Pokemon after all; most trainers in the region used a Wailmer or a Poochyena to start with, some old study Dad cited had found.

Burris shrugged. “Sure, I’ll take care of it.” It’d be a bad look for a gym leader’s kid to not pitch in like that. Sienna knew that too, which means she had probably breezed through Oldale on her way to Petalburg already.

Overachiever, like always.

-

Burris slightly regretted immediately going back into the rain, but at least this time it wasn’t a god knows how many yards sprint back to being cool and dry.

He could’ve just waited out the rain, but it gave him an excuse to just use Robby for the moment. Splashing in puddles and getting mud all over his paws distracted him from the apparently demonic Torchic, comfortable in the dry seclusion of a Poke Ball.

Burris hoped they’d get along some day. For now, though, he didn’t want the two of them sabotaging each other. 

Robby paused in the middle of a puddle, scanning the back alley of the PokeCenter, a couple of dumpsters on cracked concrete. Robby’s ears twitched as the closest dumpster, green and rusted, shifted ever so slightly.

Burris grabbed a Poke Ball. He held a finger at Robby, a silent signal the pair of them developed in their previous mis-adventures. Robby nodded and perched on Burris’ shoulder just in time for both to peer into the trash.

A Zigzagoon stared back, munching on day old bread and looking up at the pair of them with a smug, satisfied aura.

It vanished into the Poke Ball alongside its mocking smile.

-

The metal bottoms of a wooden chair protested as they rubbed against the tile kitchen floor. Liliana popped down and unwrapped the protective padding from the front of her PokeNav. She tapped in her password on the tablet’s screen.

A couple of more pokes, and an older woman appeared on the screen, blue eyes still loaded with youthful energy and brunette hair not unlike Liliana’s, except with some pepper gray mixed in.

“Hey mom,” Liliana greeted with a little wave. 

“Give me a second!” The camera jostled a bit as Aile moved to sit on a red leather couch with light blue Spheal pajamas that seemed way too well-loved compared to their surroundings. “There we are, sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Liliana said, smiling and nodding. “I just wanted to talk is all.”

Aile sighed and planted a cheek on her fist. “The kids are gone, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Liliana exhaled.

“They’ll be fine,” Aile said. Her smile widened, and she placed her hands on the back of her head. “Though yeah, I feel your nerves too. Had the same when you left.” Aile shrugged. “It’s natural, really.”

“Makes sense.” Liliana paused to sip from her mug; it wasn’t often a Hoenn summer was cool enough for warm tea.

Aile laughed. “I remember _someone_ insisted I was worrying too much.”

“Mama?” Liliana said in a knowing tone.

“No, Bianca understood. Unlike you, you little shit.”

“You threatened to dock my allowance every time I asked you to stop worrying so much,” Liliana continued, her mug floating down to the table. “Even though I didn’t have to read your mind to know you were full of shit.”

“Language.”

“Says the woman that taught me every swear word before the age of ten.” Liliana stuck her tongue out.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Aile placed her hands on her head. “Pretty sure that was your other mother.”

Liliana rolled her eyes and looked away. “She did not-“

“- she took the blame for it-“

“- you convinced her to while you were drinking together!” Liliana protested.

A pause. “She still did though.”

Liliana snorted and flared her nostrils. Aile laughed and clapped her hands.

“Anyway! How are the twins doing?”

“Well, Sienna’s already on her way to Petalburg, I think.” Liliana glanced down at her phone. “Burris texted me about 30 minutes ago saying he got to Oldale.” She tapped her chin. “… not really sure what he’s up to right now, though.”

-

Burris stared down at the Lotad, and the Lotad stared back. Jorge stared too in some sort of weird not complete staring triangle.

The clouds had cleared somewhat, leaving only base traces of sprinkles as the sun broke through. It felt nice to Burris; for this poor Lotad, it seemed paralyzing. 

“You know the forest is right there, right?” Burris said, gesturing toward the treeline separating most of Route 101 from the rest of the world.

The Lotad continued to give a blank stare; Burris noticed its skin was already starting to dry. Lotads stuck to the forest floors and lakes during drier weather, only appearing in taller grass during rainstorms.

Burris sighed and glanced around. “Alright, you’re probably just going to keep doing this if I don’t do this, so…”

The Lotad croaked before vanishing into a Poke Ball with no resistance. Burris saw her status screen pop up on his smart watch, a small screen with a nice blue frame and black straps.

“Female, about the right weight…” Burris mumbled to himself. 

Jorge chirped.

“Yeah I don’t know why the Lotad was so weird either.” He had spent enough time around seasoned trainers and researchers to put two and two together. The device prodded him for a nickname. 

Burris bounced around a few immediate thoughts, then shrugged and spoke into the watch.

“Terri?”

Burris eyed the Torchic wandering around his feet as they walked back to the PokeCenter. The humidity had, for the moment, dispelled.

He smiled at the rarity. A few other people wound their ways through the sidewalks of the town, a few cars out and about on the smooth roads before vanishing out of sight behind the trees. Hoenn had a rather interconnected highway system for a continent ruled half by ocean; ships tended to be able to carry cars and, in some cases, even full tour buses.

Not to mention Hoenn’s roads had long ago been entirely replaced by solar panels. Long before the panels existed, the roads were carefully planned and built around traditional Pokemon habitats as well. Other regions weren’t so lucky; Unova had occasional issues with Sawsbucks demolishing cars on accident.

The Sawsbucks were fine, of course, only slightly bruised and annoyed at the inconvenience. 

Burris remembered Birch mentioning at some point that Sawsbuck had migrated to more remote parts of Hoenn before his PokeNav lit up; a text from Mom.

“Oh, she’s talking with Grandma Aile?” Burris did some quick mental math. “I should be able to get back to the center in 15.”

-

Burris tossed off the last of his damp clothes in a pile in the side of the room. PokeCenter single rooms were typically no larger than a dorm room, and while places like Oldale were able to get away with one trainer a room, bigger cities like Mauville and Lilycove usually were forced to have trainers share during busy seasons.

He couldn’t imagine sharing that space with someone else, even temporarily. He rummaged around in his bag, grabbing a light blue tight-fitting shirt to go with his black pair of gym shorts. Not like anyone would expect him to dress up for a call, let alone on what amounted to an extended camping trip.

The springs protested as Burris threw himself onto the cheap bed. The discomfort of the sheet reminded him he was no longer home.

He pushed those thoughts aside, setting up his PokeNav’s stand, the flat screen angled up at his face. A few taps here, a few taps there, a “Calling…” in white letters popping up on the dark screen, and finally two similar faces 20 years apart stared back at him.

“Hey Mom, hey Grandma Aile!” Burris waved as they did. “How are things going?”

“Just being wine moms, the usual,” Aile immediately replied, causing Liliana to roll her eyes and reminding Burris this was business as usual.

Not the wine mom bit, mind.

“I’m sure you are.” Burris sounded very unconvinced. 

“Of course,” Liliana said. It dawned on Burris in this moment he had gotten his dry tone of voice from his mother. “But how are things going for you? Still in Oldale?”

Burris nodded. “Yeah! I got distracted catching a couple of pokemon so I might just stay the night.”

“Can we meet your new friends?” Aile asked.

Burris shrugged, hoping that Robby would at least be distracted enough by the new pair to not start a fight with Jorge in front of family. “Sure, just let me…”

In a series of flashes, the group populated the bed with Burris. Sandy stared at the camera, head on paws and putting on her best puppy expression.

Burris swore he blinked and the other three were off elsewhere; Robby and Jorge immediately back to small gestures and chirps at one another, with…

Aile laughed. “I see your Lotad knows how to break up a fight.”

Sure enough. Robby gradually realized he was almost at the opposite end of the bed, standing on Terri’s lilypad head. 

She shut her eyes and croaked for the camera, pleased with themselves.

“And they’re all consummate actors,” Liliana added. 

“Sandy hasn’t eaten any trash yet, so agreed.” Burris rubbed the top of Sandy’s back, the Zigzagoon now annoyed. “I had to give her two baths before she was presentable.”

Aile sighed; Burris could practically see the nostalgia clouding both of his relatives’ thoughts. 

“It’s been ages since I’ve gotten to see family start a journey,” Aile spoke up, her hands smushing her cheeks and legs idly kicking in the air. “Though you and Liliana really should’ve chosen Spheal over Oshawott.”

Burris felt Robby jump onto his shoulder and spit his tongue out at the screen.

At least he wasn’t fighting Jorge this time.

“Don’t tease him, Mom,” Liliana chided. She paused for a sip of tea. “He’s always been sensitive.”

Robby squeaked, now waving a scallop around at the camera.

“Please stop bullying my Oshawott,” Burris protested.

Robby shut his eyes and nodded in agreement.

“It’s good for his character,” Liliana said. She idly stirred her spoon in her mug, eyes off remembering times gone past. “I remember when your great-grandma gave me Jack still.” 

“He was such a sweetie,” Aile said. “Though I do remember him and Chu didn’t always get along…”

Burris tilted his head. “How?”

Liliana dismissed the surprise with a wave. “He thought I might replace him with Chu at points.”

“I mean, Chu broke how many gym walls during your adventure?” Liliana and Aile stared at Burris, now blushing slightly. “I… watch old gym battles late at night.”

Aile smiled. “I caught your mom watching my old battles at night too.”

“It’s true,” Liliana nodded. “I’ve caught Sienna doing the same as well.”

“Oh yeah, has she talked to you guys?” Burris questioned.

“She’s texted once or twice; she’s training around Petalburg right now I think,” Liliana commented 

“Always pushing ahead, always stubborn,” Aile said. She chuckled. “My girl.”

Liliana gave a nostalgic laugh. “Oh, you don’t know half of it…”

“Seriously,” Burris remarked. “How many times did you go to the principal’s office because of her?”

“I think you mentioned that to me,” Aile said, raising an eyebrow at Liliana. “I don’t think you really mentioned specifics.”

Liliana considered it for a moment, drinking the last of her tea.

Burris rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, slightly nervous. “There was that time I got punched…”

“Okay, _now_ I need to hear this.”

Liliana shrugged. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”

-

_Roughly 8-9 years earlier_

Liliana sat on the couch, Jack dozing off by her feet and a good book in her lap. She had some time before needing to continue down her list for the day; the back shed needed to be cleaned still. There were some visitors interested in a Petilil for a trainer starting out on their journey.

The usual, pretty much. Liliana had already thoroughly vetted the family and trainer, of course.

Her cell phone buzzed on the coffee table, a plain ebony thing. She peeked up from her book, and realized it was the school.

“Sienna…” she muttered with an unsaid “again?” “Hello?” she spoke into the phone, grabbing it without a motion.

“Mrs Juniper?” The principal’s voice, the two were well-acquainted at this point. “I have Sienna and Burris in the office with me here…”

“Burris?”

-

Liliana noticed she shaved a minute or two off of her usual time between home and the Oldale Middle School. A plain larger tan brick building on the outskirts between Oldale and Littleroot, designed to handle kids from both towns.

She always enjoyed the fact that the principal’s office sat just inside the front entrance; it probably saved her a solid hour of walking per school year.

The secretary’s intern, on the phone, gestured towards the principal’s door. She had only been there for a few months, and had recognized Liliana by sight within her first month.

Liliana could feel the tension in the room before opening the door slowly; Sienna sat in one chair, bruised and with tears on her sleeves, Burris another with an ice pack over an eye, and the principal, an older man with balding pepper gray hair and a slim stature.

Liliana picked up on his nerves immediately, unintentionally. She raised an eyebrow before sitting down.

“Hello, Mrs Harmonia-Juniper,” he said. Liliana barely heard it; she had asked Burris to lift his ice pack, and her blood boiled slightly at the black bruise around his eye.

“Hello, Principal Marks,” she said in an icy tone. 

“So I brought you here to explain what-“

“They started it!” Sienna protested sharply, loudly.

“Sienna.” 

“It’s true!” Sienna said, hands at her side as fists. “They punched Burris first!”

Liliana gave an unconvinced look, and turned to Marks expecting the same.

He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. “Yes, well- Sienna here started-“

Liliana drifted back to the first time she had been in his office; Sienna had locked someone attempting to bully her for flirting with the girls in a locker. She quickly made a habit of bullying, well, bullies.

Most knew better than to try and pick on Burris by Sienna’s reputation alone, and yet judging by Marks’ trepidation…

“It was those Weiss pricks!” Sienna shouted. Liliana picked up on the name; twin sons of prominent donors to the school.

“Sienna, you are no-“ Marks started, before being cut off from an icy “Well?” from Liliana.

Her mind twitched, her instincts clawing at her to peer into his mind. True, Sienna started a lot of scuffles, but she never denied it.

If she hadn’t been targeting other well-known bullies, she probably would’ve been expelled by now. As it stood, everyone knew the kids were pricks, and the bullies’ parents knew better than to cross Liliana. She had heard the theories the other parents had about her abilities; she got a solid laugh out of the ones that suggested she was secretly some Pokemon or another.

“Sienna claims she didn’t start it, Marks.” Liliana folded her hands, brought her chair closer to the absolute mess of a desk. “My daughter is many things, but she’s not a liar.”

He coughed, struggling to find his words. 

Liliana sighed, and her eyes flashed blue for the briefest of moments. She had no intent to dig through his entire mind; all she needed was enough to confirm Sienna’s story.

She couldn’t help but hone in on something else, though.

Sienna couldn’t help but have a wide smug grin at the briefest of scenes. Marks sweated profusely as Liliana’s eyes returned to normal.

“I believe my daughter is right,” Liliana said, hands folded on her lap. “Where are those Weiss boys?”

“I-I talked with them earl-“

“What punishment did they receive?” Burris peaked up with his lone uncovered eye at his mother.

“They-“

“I already know the answer.”

Silence filled the room for a second. Marks sweating grew more intense. Sienna had the gall to stick her tongue out at Marks, while Burris blushed and hid his face away.

Liliana, internally, sighed. Burris never wanted to be the center of attention like this; he heard enough stories of Sienna getting in trouble to understand this was very different.

He also probably felt like this situation was his fault; Liliana made a mental note to treat him after this.

“I also could talk to your secretary about the-“

“Okay, okay.” Marks held a hand up, wiping his bald head with a handkerchief. “The Weiss boys, and Sienna, will just get detention.” 

Liliana crossed her arms and judged Marks in silence for a good few seconds.

“Good enough.”

-

“I see I raised you right,” Aile said, stretching her arms above her head.

Liliana nodded, sipping on the start of her second mug of tea. “In some capacity.”

Burris resisted the urge to comment on the likeness the two had, both because he wasn’t in the mood to tease his mother and also because he knew it’d probably be weaponized against him in a few years time anyway.

Then another thought struck him. “Didn’t that principal resign while we were still in middle school, too? Over an affair?”

“Mhmm.” 

Aile tilted her head. “You didn’t tell-“

“Of course not,” Liliana said. “The janitor found some email or another of his on accident one day and he called the wife.”

Burris chuckled. That wasn’t even the weirdest thing that had happened during high school.

Afternoon turned into night as the trio chatted back and forth; Sienna showed up for a little bit from Petalburg for a quick hello, and the sun had long set on the day before the video call ended.

Burris plopped his head back onto his pillow and laughed. He had forgotten how fun those conversations were like, and the moonlight trickling in behind worn curtains highlighted his smile ever so slightly.

They hearkened back to a simpler time, a better time, and nostalgic thoughts carried him off to his slumber.


End file.
